A shopper seen through a heart-shaped gift at a store in Mumbai, Feb. 10

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Whether you think it’s a Western-imported Hallmark Holiday or a celebration of all that’s right with the world, Valentine’s Day is upon us. We, at India Real Time, with tongue firmly in cheek, take look at the “couples” who could do with making up during the festival of love.

Narendra Modi, the standard bearer of India’s opposition party, may have received a Valentine from the U.S. in the form of a visit from the American ambassador, but overall, relations between the two countries have been icy in recent months.

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The India-U.S. honeymoon came to an abrupt end late last year when federal authorities arrested and strip-searched an Indian diplomat in New York for alleged visa fraud. Since then, there’s been a chill in the air between world’s two largest democracies, with the U.S. declining to withdraw the case against the diplomat and India hitting back by revoking certain privileges granted to American diplomats.

Despite Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts to mend relations with his country’s Asian sweetheart, a patch-up seems unlikely, at least in the near future. Last week, the U.S. filed a case at the World Trade Organization against India over a solar-power dispute, further straining relations between the two countries.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

Protesters demanding a separate state of Telangana in New Delhi, Feb. 13.

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Leaders in Andhra Pradesh were left heartbroken when India’s ruling Congress party decided to carve out a separate state out of the southern state’s Telangana region.

The heartache deepened in the ongoing session of Parliament, with lawmakers from Andhra Pradesh routinely disrupting proceedings over the bill to make the break up official by creating Telangana, India’s 29th state.

This week, the knives were out over the issue when Parliament descended into pandemonium, with one lawmaker letting off pepper spray and another allegedly brandishing a blade. Not the usual Valentine’s gifts but it seems hell hath no fury like a southern state scorned.

In December, India’s Supreme Court recriminalized gay sex, a surprise setback for the burgeoning gay-rights movement in this largely conservative country. A two-judge bench argued that a ruling by a lower court, which struck down a section in India’s penal code to lift the ban on homosexual acts, was not constitutionally valid. Laws, they said, could only be erased in Parliament.

Activists and gay rights groups later appealed to the top court to review its decision, a plea that was turned down in January.

Perhaps this Valentine’s Day the Indian Parliament could shower some love on its gay population and pave the way for a bill that strikes down Section 377, a colonial-era law criminalizing gay sex. But let’s not get too far ahead: At least 39 bills are pending approval in the ongoing session of Parliament, which ends on Feb. 21. And considering how the house is almost always adjourned ahead of time – thanks to pepper spray and broken grass in recent days – we may just have to kiss this hope goodbye.

Sahara and SEBI

Subrata Roy outside the SEBI office in Mumbai, April 10, 2013.

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Subrata Roy, chairman of the multi-billion-dollar Sahara Group, finds himself at the center of a love-hate triangle with India’s securities regulator and the Supreme Court. Last year, the Securities and Exchange Board of India petitioned the Supreme Court to detain Mr. Roy for allegedly failing to comply with an earlier court order to repay more than $3 billion to debenture holders. Mr. Roy, who claimed to have repaid the amount, later issued full-page advertisements in national dailies challenging the chairman of SEBI to a live-television debate to bring to light “their wrong intent and deed.”

We doubt Mr. Roy, who owns businesses in the U.S. and Middle East, among other locations, feels much love towards the Supreme Court which has barred him from traveling abroad until he furnishes proof of payments.

Arvind Kejriwal and the Delhi Police

Arvind Kejriwal at a protest in New Delhi, Jan. 20.

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Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi’s new chief minister, is at loggerheads with the capital’s federally-run police force, which he accuses of being corrupt. A war of words between the two sides escalated last month, when party officials urged the police to search an alleged brothel, which law enforcement authorities refused to do saying they didn’t have the proper warrants. The 45-year-old activist-turned-politician staged a sit-in-protest in the aftermath of that bitter spat, demanding the capital’s 80,000-strong police force be brought under the control of his administration.

Mr. Kejriwal may do well to have a one-to-one with the Delhi police chief, rather than lobby for public support at another sit-in. And retired top cop Kiran Bedi, a former close aide of Mr. Kejriwal, could even play cupid.

About India Real Time

India Real Time offers analysis and insights into the broad range of developments in business, markets, the economy, politics, culture, sports, and entertainment that take place every single day in the world’s largest democracy. Regular posts from Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires reporters around the country provide a unique take on the main stories in the news, shed light on what else mattered and why, and give global readers a snapshot of what Indians have been talking about all week. You can contact the editors at indiarealtime(at)wsj(dot)com.